fabric softner sheets to get bugs off???

[TEAK]

I was reading a thread about bug removal over on a car forum and several people suggested using fabric softner sheets to get them off. Normally I would have dismissed this but this is a group of guys that are pretty fond of their cars and are rather peculiar about how they treat them. So detail gurus have you ever heard of this? I am quite happy with some diluted apc and elbow grease but I would like to give these guys a heads up if they are doing serious damage to their cars finish.

[Chase@InsanePaint]

Call me old-fashioned here, but.....Car Shampoo, water, and a wash mit seem to work just fine for me, lol??? I would think nothing more than MAYBE adding some APC to the mixture might help, if the bugs were super bad. But duct tape, goo gone, or anything like that would just scare the crap out of me to even try.......

[DaveVY]

Living in Florida, where one of the ways of keeping track of seasons is by bug name, I have found the best way of removing bugs is to do it very routinely, not allowing them to dry or "bake" on.

 

Usually most bugs can be removed with a little soaking and some gentle rubbing with the wash mitt if it is done within a day of the bug strike. If there are many bugs and they are baked on then the pressure washer comes out to knock them off. If it doesn't come off with that (usually baked on) then I use one of the other brand bug removers and let them soak for 10-15 minutes then gently rub them off with a finger tip (this is after the car has been washed and there isn't any other grit to rub in).

 

In extreme circumstances (once or twice a year) I will resort to using a finger nail and then check for scratches and use the 4" pad on a drill to quickly buff it out.

 

The worst bug season is the love bug...

 

Might try the goo gone to see how well it works.

 

[Z71_Denali]

pre-soaking them in WW, then pressure washing them off usually gets them off for me before a mitt even touches the car. if any specks are left the mitt usually takes them off for me. but i wash my cars on a regular basis.

 

on a rather neglected car, using 50% APC to pre-soak them before pressure washing usually does the trick. if not the clay bar always gets them off!

[AudiOx]

Call me old-fashioned here, but.....Car Shampoo, water, and a wash mit seem to work just fine for me, lol??? I would think nothing more than MAYBE adding some APC to the mixture might help, if the bugs were super bad. But duct tape, goo gone, or anything like that would just scare the crap out of me to even try.......

 

With pristine and protected paint, I would agree. In my case, the car surface was relatively rough, in bad need of claying and correction, and was not protected. As a result, the bugs weren''t coming off I noticed in previous washes. After my 1000 mile trip through FL I chose to presoak rather than scrub. Even with that, a few didn't come off.

Now that I'm correcting, sealing, and waxing the paint, I hopefully would need anything that drastic if I can get to them quickly.

Over the years, I've always just scrubbed on my previous cars. I won't do that anymore.

[DaytonaJae]

Someone once told me to spray Pam cooking spray on the front bumper and the bugs wont stick to the car.

 

I'd like to try that on a junk beater car just once to satisfy my curiosity LOL

[THE Mook]

I have found the best method to start with is always having a good layer of Sealant or Wax down on my SS. After that, if I do get some bug guts, I Pre-Soak in WW, Adam's Waterless Car Wash Combo, then use a special, old washpad that's been lubed up with some Car Shampoo, Adam's Car Wash Trio to get the remainder. I have found that to be the best method for me.

 

Mook

[TEAK]

I washed my car today since I laid down the first coat of Americana and boy did that make a big difference! A quick spray with some waterless wash, foam gun, bug scrubber pad and they are all gone. Its amazing what some people will put on their cars to save a little elbow grease.

[Team Adam's]

I use the same method as Mook^^^. A 15 minute soak with Waterless Wash and any bug bits and pieces come right off.

[XQIZT]

I've also heard of the dryer sheet method and although it might be an effective way of getting bugs off, I just don't like the idea of rubbing one of them on my paint. Rub a dryer sheet through your fingers. They are rough and probably will introduce quite a number of swirls.

 

A good coat of wax and immediate attention to the situation is the way I handle it.

[AudiOx]

I washed my car today since I laid down the first coat of Americana and boy did that make a big difference! A quick spray with some waterless wash, foam gun, bug scrubber pad and they are all gone. Its amazing what some people will put on their cars to save a little elbow grease.

 

I don't think saving elbow grease is the reason. In fact the more elbow grease I use like a bug scrubber pad, fingernails, etc, the more likely I'm going add scratches and swirls. If I knew scrubbing wouldn't add swirls, then I'd gladly get tennis elbow to get them off without going the chemical route.

Once I get the front of the car corrected, sealed, and waxed, the job should be much simpler, ie soaking with Waterlesh Wash. Then I don't have to worry about some chemical removing my wax.

[ChargerMatt]

Just put some of those fly strips all over your car. Problem solved.

[Vincenzo]

@Matt

 

Bwahahaha that is surely the best way.

 

 

You know, personally I like to use duct tape. Just layer it all over the bumper, and rip it off real clean. And if there is any sticky bits left over scotch brite pads work great!

[AudiOx]

When I washed the car last time, I pretreated the front of the car and side mirrors with a bit of Goo Gone (though a more paint safe product would be better) prior to foaming. I then washed the front of the car last to give it maybe 15 minutes of soak time. The result: no scrubbing.

 

Of course I assume this would take any waxes or sealants off, but this was a wash prior to a full polish. I returned from a 1000 mile trip through FL so the bug splats were ALL over the car.

 

Once everything was done, I found maybe 3 or 4 bug spots that weren't totally gone, so I touched them up with a dab of Goo-gone and they came right off.